CALIFF
I was dreaming. In my dream, I was running through the woods, feeling the dirt under my feet and the cold breeze against my skin.
I caught the scents of the forest, and decaying leaves wafted around. As the adrenaline rushed, I felt free, and I felt my heart pumping as I ran faster, ignoring the burning in my lungs.
It was a peaceful night. I was aware I was alone in a way that made it more dangerous, but there was no eerily smell of threats in the air.
One moment, I was in my bare feet. The next blink, I was in a four-legged wolf.
A jam of adrenaline and pain surged through me. The trembling took over faster. My whole body was caught in a flashback of fear of traps in those deaths and the pungent smell of blood, and I’d never felt an existential, physical, or emotional weakness watching the people I cared about in such agony.
“Hey.” A familiar trusty voice and a hand on my face that was warm and soft. I purred to its touch. “Baby?”
I jolted up and met the familiar, most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen, but the pain and distress sunk deep into those orbs.
I swallowed hard as the reality sunk in faster. I looked around. I was in the clearing, naked, grass poking against my bare skin.
I sat down. My heart still beat faster. I looked down at my bare, muddy feet. “It wasn’t a dream.”
“Yes. You probably sleepwalked and shifted. We saw your torn clothes near the tree.” I felt the deep worry in her voice, and it was killing me.
“I need to see Dr. Sallie and lock myself in the confinement before I hurt someone.”
“No to confinement, but we’ll see Dr. Sallie.” She gave me clothes, and they didn’t look like mine. “They’re Zack’s. I told him to go home. He can walk back butt-naked, but not an Alpha.”
I stared at her. “I’m worried.”
“Me too.” She nodded. When her eyes welled with tears, I couldn’t hold it anymore. I pulled her in my arms and hugged her tight.
“This is not happening.”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure this out.”
“This can’t happen again. Something’s really wrong with me, Shadow.”
I showered as we got back to the pack house. I changed to my clothes, and Shadow was already waiting for me.
“I texted Duke that he will handle pack business for a while. I didn’t elaborate on why, but he replied, “Take your time.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Are you ready?”
“As I will ever be.” I linked our hands together as we walked out of our room.
Once we arrived at the infirmary, Dr. Sallie and Kindra were already waiting for us.
“I will draw blood from you, but don’t worry, I will do a test myself.”
“Have you been briefed?” I looked at the good doctor.
“I told them while you were in the shower,” my mate said.
“Yes. Shadow told us,” Kindra confirmed it. “Don’t worry, Alpha. This is between patient-doctor only.”
“Thanks for keeping this discreet.”
“No problem. Mom also wants you to do a CT Scan. To make sure we can rule out what’s going on with you besides Zarah’s opinion.”
“I will do it.”
“Good.” Dr. Sallie drew blood from me to four different tubes.
“You need that a lot of my blood?”
Dr. Sallie chuckled. “I will donate the rest. These are for-”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “I trust you, Dr. Sallie. I was just messing with you.”
Once she was done, she did a thorough check-up on me, from head to toe.
“Since when is this going on?”
“Sleepwalking? Last night, but this aggression happened when we came back. My wolf is active, but he’d been a pain in my ass when he sensed disobedience and threats.”
“Your body looks perfectly normal. You’re not physically sick.”
“While in the gym with Lyon, my nose bled with one punch.”
“What?” Kindra gasped, a deep frown set on her forehead. “He didn’t punch you that hard, did he?”
I shook my head. I didn’t know how to explain that I suddenly became vulnerable.
Dr. Sallie had the same reaction as Kindra. “Have you experienced dizziness and headache?”
“That I might have brain cancer?”
“Whoa!” That came from everyone.
“Easy, tiger,” said Shadow. “Let Dr. Sallie do her job.”
“I was just asking, guys.” I raised my hands. “Relax.”
“I know what you have in mind, Alpha, considering your father had suffered a rare blood disease for a decade.”
“I wasn’t thinking about it, Kindra.”
“Good. I’m done. I’ll take this to the lab and return as soon as I have the results. When this comes back normal, you do the CT Scan.”
“Of course. Thanks, doc.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
After the infirmary, Shadow texted Zarah for the portal. It appeared before us in just seconds. It still amazed me that this was possible and happening.
We arrived in her living room. She was there waiting for us. Her face was not so happy, as if she just figured out what was wrong with me.
“Oh, they’re here.”
I turned around. Aira joined us.
“What did we miss?” Shadow asked.
“Sit down,” Zarah ordered us.
I was not used to getting orders, but it was Zarah. I joined Shadow on the couch, and I had a feeling the next thing would come in Zarah’s mouth define my fate.
“What is it?”
“I think you may have mercury poisoning?”
“What?” I stared at Zarah, and so did Shadow. I knew not only silver or wolfsbane could harm or kill us. Mercury, as well. It was deadly and difficult to trace and get off someone’s body.
“Who would do that?”
“Good question, Shadow,” Aira reacted.
“I think this happened during your honeymoon, and your body just reacts to the symptoms late because you’re not human, and your wolf is stronger.”
Something resurfaced in Shadow’s eyes, an emotion welling up quickly. My heart ached for her that she was beyond worried and hurting because of me.
“Why did I sleepwalk this morning?”
“It’s hereditary in humans, but in your case, it’s your fatigue and interrupted sleep.” She pointed a finger at my face. “You look exhausted. You haven’t slept well in days. How’s your lungs?”
I drew deep breaths to test the theory. “I don’t feel different.”
“That’s good.” She stood up.
“Where are you going?” Shadow asked as Aira followed Zarah away from the living room.
“To get him a treatment.”
“Hey.” I wrapped my arm around my wife and kissed the top of her head. “If this is mercury poisoning, then Zarah has a cure. I’ll be fine, but whoever tried to kill me will not be alive for long.”
She wrapped and tightened her arms around me. “Your blood result will support Zarah’s prognosis.”
“I hope so, baby.” My chest clenched as I realized this could be the work of hunters and how far they had come close to us, to Shadow, without us knowing.
She pulled away. Her eyes lit up. “Or maybe I can just heal you.”
“No!” Zarah and I said in unison.
“You know the consequences, baby, and it’s not our last resort. We still have options we haven’t tried. You haven’t mastered your gift yet, and there’s no way you’ll use it on me.”
Her face fell. “This is not a coincidence. You were getting poisoned, and I’m affected by what’s happening with you. This is maybe the hunters’ grand plan. To kill us both slowly.”
“Good theory, baby, but we’ll get into it. I swear, I will kill everyone involved in this.” My jaw clenched. The darker side of my nature sensed an aggravated anger.
Zarah came back with a glass of dark greenish concoction in her hand.
Shadow grimaced. “What’s that?”
“You don’t have to know, or Califf won’t drink it.”
“I will.” I stood up and drank the contents in the glass empty. I forcefully swallowed it down even if it threatened to throw up. The taste was indescribably bitter, like mud, grassy and dungy. And it smelled like dead animals rotting under the sun. My stomach twisted, but I held it there.
They all grimaced when my throat worked up. “What the fuck was that?”
“It’s-”
“Shut up.” Zarah stopped Aira from telling me. I bet it was something nasty, just how it tasted.
“Is there any side-” I hadn’t finished yet, and I felt like throwing up. My stomach grumbled, twisted simultaneously, and my guts threatened to come out, and it hurt like a motherfucker. “Bathroom!”
“Down the hallway!” they said and pointed in unison.
“Fuck!”